Birth Project (1980-85)

Judy Chicago collaborated with more than 150 needleworkers during the Birth Project to create dozens of images combining painting and needlework that celebrate various aspects of the birth process; from the painful to the mythical. Sometimes witty and always original, this series celebrates the birth-giving capacity of women along with their creative spirit. Birth Project works were toured by Through the Flower to over 100 venues, then gifted by the organization to various institutions around the country. The Birth Project is included in many prominent permanent collections.

During this same period, Chicago created numerous drawings and prints in sizes ranging from the small to the monumental. Some of these images relate to specific works from the Birth Project while others are parallel projects, for example, In the Beginning, a monumental, 30 foot long drawing in Prismacolor pencil which is a visual narrative, combining a written text re-imagining the Genesis myth with powerful symbolism. This same Re-Creation myth (written by Chicago) provided the underpinnings for The Creation, a 14 foot tapestry woven by Audrey Cowan, Chicago’s long time collaborator.

In 2011, The Creation was exhibited at the Museum of Art and Design in New York as part of an exhibition titled Judy Chicago Tapestries: Woven by Audrey Cowan, the first survey of Chicago’s tapestry designs. In a catalogue essay titled “Judy Chicago’s Tapestries: Persuasions of Change”, senior curator David Revere McFadden wrote about The Creation tapestry:

“Casting this archetypal story as that of female fecundity flies in the face of visual, cultural, and religious history. It becomes a metanarrative by implication, reflecting Chicago’s determination to challenge the status quo and to question received knowledge”.

Selected work

Birth Project 11693_Birth_Project_Logo Birth Project TTF.10421_The_Creation Birth Project TTF.10421_Detail_The_Creation Birth Project 11139_In_the_Beginning Birth Project 11139_Detail_In_the_Beginning Birth Project 11139_Detail_2_In_the_Beginning Birth Project TTF.10424_EU_28_Birth_Trinity Birth Project TTF.1095_EU_4_Birth_Tear_E2 Birth Project TTF.1098_EU_2_Crowning_Quilt_5_of_ 9 Birth Project TTF.1086_EU_22_Earth_Birth Birth Project TTF.1086_Detail_EU_22_Earth_Birth Birth Project TTF.10427_EU_34_Birth_Garment_1_Pregnant_Amazon Birth Project TTF.10429_EU_34_Birth_Garment_2_Flowering_Shrub Birth Project TTF.10435.3.EU-56_Hatching_the_Universal_Egg_Birth_Power Birth Project TTF.1096_Smocked_Figure_Details Birth Project TTF.10452_EU_70_Birth_Special_Technique Birth Project TTF.10452_Detail_EU_70_Birth_Special_Technique Birth Project TTF.10622.EU-26_Creation_of _the_World Birth Project TTF.10426.EU-45 Creation of the World Petit Point 2 Birth Project TTF.10450_EU_81_Birth_Tear_Tear_BT_ST1 Birth Project TTF.1088_Mother_India

Installation views

Birth Project BALTIC Judy Chicago (High Res)-67 Birth Project Judy Chicago at Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami (ICA Miami) Birth Project 2019 Judy Chicago The Birth Project From New Mexico Collections - Exhibition © K Brennan Studio _DSC4574 Birth Project TTF.10452.EU-70 Birth installed at PMCA 2018 DSC05891 Birth Project In The Beginning installed at PMCA 2018 DSC05883 Birth Project Birth Garments and Studies installed at PMCA 2018 DSC05862 Birth Project FRIEZE-04 2016 New York Salon 94 Birth Project Azkuna_Zentroa_Birth_Trinity Birth Project MAD_The_Creation_frontal_2011 Birth Project MAD_The_Creation_2011 Birth Project Milwaukee_BP_installation_1985 Birth Project Benicia_BP_installation Birth Project BP_Snug_Harbor Birth Project In_the_Beginning_Smocked_Figure_installation Birth Project BP_Snug_Harbor_2

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